This is a honesty ‘hour’ for everyone that actually extends to two weeks! You’ll be able to reblog this meme for fourteen days starting today, but feel free to continue answering memes after that if need be. Go wild with them and have a good time!
Keep in mind that you can ask questions that might be difficult for a character! Or even ask questions that you nor your muse would normally ask. Remember, they have to answer them! It’s just up to you to decide whether it affects them in canon-verse (none of the answers are public knowledge unless you want them to be).
Remember to reblog this if you’re interested in receiving a meme, and to send some to everyone that reblogs it, too! You’re welcome to skip over this if you’d like to; it’s by no means mandatory to reblog and participate. Most importantly, though, have fun!!
busy, busy, busy… jieun’s to-do list was never ending, new task after new task added. that day, she was focusing on her new business - her completely legal, exciting passion project, for anyone who asked her about it. she was having custom made shelves and curtains because of course she would, so off she was, even going to buy the fabric herself. she believed heavily that to get the job done right, she had to do it herself.
quietly, she observed the hanging fabrics and the fabrics on the wall of the small fabric shop, running her hands to gauge the texture. she was daydreaming a bit, stuck in her own head, when a sudden face jumped out at her from the rack. her first reaction was to toss the fabric in her hands at the figure and jump back, but it only took her a moment to identify the man, cheeks blushing a bright pink.
“jaewooon,” jieun whined, picking up the fabric that was now on the ground. throwing the fabric? really? what exactly was that going to accomplish? “oh, so now you just hang out in fabric shop racks and wait for an unassuming woman to come along so you can scare her? odd way to get off, but if it works.” she walked while still observing fabrics, not too bothered about his presence. though, despite it being something she would never admit, she always enjoyed the occasions she got to see jaewon. it helped her feel normal, in a weird way, and she smiled at him for a second. “hold these–” she shoved the fabrics in his arms so she could have her hands free. “might as well make yourself useful!”
jaewon’s eyebrows rise as the fabric leaves jieun’s hands and hits his front harmlessly before fluttering to the floor. his eyes follow its progress before glancing up to meet hers, amusement sparkling in them. he wants to tease her for her chosen defense -- really, that’s not the best way to defend yourself on an island like theirs -- but she beats him to it, and her whining of his name coupled with the casual comment flung his way has him laughing out loud. “not just any woman, just one i know i can have some fun with,” he responds with a wink in her direction, but she’s already moving on down the aisle.
he follows her because really, that is the entire reason he came in this store. he’s never in his life gone into a fabric store before, and unless phoenix decides they need one on their side for some reason, he probably never will again. but he still blinks, acting offended and put-upon when she forces him to carry her stuff for her. “excuse you,” he says, though the way his mouth tips up at the corners betrays his amusement. “what if i’ve got my own shopping to do? who’s to say i wasn’t just popping up to scare you and say hi?”
of course, he knows that’s total bullshit -- he wasn’t doing anything before he saw jieun come in here. he was on his way to the crow’s nest, sure, but he spends so much time there. it’s far more fun to follow jieun around, trading teasing and flirty comments in equal measure. if she thinks about it for half a second ( and she’s sure to; jaewon knows jieun is more than just a pretty face ) she’ll realize that his excuses are bullshit, too. he fully expects her to comment on it, which is why he follows closely behind her, though he still considers dumping the pile of fabric in his arms on jieun’s head, just to laugh at her reaction.
bright blue isn’t necessarily the best color on jaewon, but he makes it work. he’s been a volunteer at the cat cafe for a couple weeks now -- the owner practically begged him to at least volunteer if he didn’t want to work there, since he’s there all the time anyway and is the only one who midas will happily spend time with -- besides haseul, of course, who’s too busy with her work at the dog cafe to take another job here. jaewon doesn’t really mind doing it -- it gives him time to catch up on his reading, when midas has the patience to let jaewon give more attention to a book than him.
right now, though, the cat is happily settled on jaewon’s head, the vibrations of his purrs going through his skull and down into his back, which is actually rather pleasant. both of their backs are braced against the wall, jaewon holding his book against his raised knees so he doesn’t have to tilt his head down and dislodge midas, who is certainly ruining jaewon’s hair, but he can’t bring himself to mind.
a high-pitched cooing voice assaults jaewon’s ears just before he feels and hears midas stop purring, and he plants a falsely-pleasant smile on his lips that reads get away from me right now plain as day to anyone looking at it. the woman in front of him is it, and neither is the friend behind her, whose incessant cooing is even higher-pitched and more headache inducing than the first woman’s. “ooooh, it’s so cute!” the first woman cries, and jaewon feels midas tense up -- he’ll start hissing if these idiots don’t bring their voices down an octave or so. jaewon can’t help but bristle too -- these are the exact kinds of people he hates at this cafe. animals aren’t its -- they have feelings and thoughts and desires just as much as humans do. they aren’t just some pretty toy to have around to coo at and snuggle with when it’s convenient.
“can i hold it?” the second woman asks, and jaewon shrugs.
“if he’ll let you,” he says simply, carefully enunciating on the he. midas would cooperate a lot more if jaewon took him off his head himself and handed him over, but he doesn’t entirely want him to cooperate right now -- he’d be perfectly fine with the cat scratching their faces off. the woman lifts him gently from jaewon’s head, and damn, it looks like she’s held a cat before. midas is weak to a good ear scratch, too, so he melts as soon as she has him settled and scratches his ear.
“aww, he’s purring!” she says, and jaewon can’t help but scowl while both women’s attention is on midas and not him. “is he up for adoption?” the forced smile is back on jaewon’s face before she even turns her head to look at him, but he’s a professional at faking it and she doesn’t notice a thing.
“no, i’m afraid not,” he replies without thinking, though he doesn’t regret the lie from the moment it leaves his lips. “he’s already spoken for. we have plenty of other cats and kittens who are available, though,” he says in his best customer service voice, gesturing to the room at large, which is quite literally filled with cats lounging about.
“well, i hope he’s going to a good home,” the second woman says, looking back to midas and smiling fondly as she scratches his ears. jaewon almost feels bad about lying to her, until he remembers that midas getting adopted would mean jaewon would likely never see him again. he doesn’t let himself feel bad after that.
the woman soon sets midas down on the table and gives his back a long stroke before she and her friend walk away to find other cats to play with. jaewon immediately gathers midas in his arms, ignoring the cat’s meows of protest. “i have to go see haseul,” he says to the cat, petting him absently as he gets up and carries midas back to his usual tower in the corner. “don’t let anyone near you unless it’s me or haseul, alright?” he tells the cat, knowing that midas is smart enough to understand him and listen, and possibly to understand the significance of what just happened and what jaewon’s planning to do. “don’t let anyone take you away, got it?” he adds, giving midas’s ears one last scratch as he deposits him on the shelf of the tower. midas mews in response, and jaewon leaves without signing out on the front desk’s volunteer chart.
he has to get to the dog cafe, and he has to pray that haseul is working right now. if she isn’t, he’ll wrangle her phone number out of someone and call her. he can’t do this without her -- it might be weird that they’re near strangers but they’ve already pretty much agreed to adopt a cat together but, hey, it’s a weird world that they live in.
thankfully, haseul is in the dog cafe, and she doesn’t seem very busy. or at least, there isn’t a line at the counter, and she seems to be humming to herself as she cleans something, and jaewon figures that’s not-busy enough for what he needs to tell her. “i’m adopting midas. today.”
16. what part of your body are you most uncomfortable with?
“my feet,” he answers a bit too easily for someone with his confidence, like he’s thought about it before. “feet are always kinda ugly, but mine are really bony and weirdly shaped. i don’t actually like to take my socks off to have sex. it’s a weird little thing, but you know,” he shrugs. “everyone has their insecurities.”
17. who are you most comfortable around?
“is it weird if i say seoah?” he laughs a bit at himself, rubbing the back of his neck. “i mean, i’m close with a few people in phoenix, but i’ve known seoah longer. sure, she thought i was dead for a while after i went kinda crazy and acted like i killed myself, and i didn’t know she had gotten involved in all this business, so we haven’t properly known each other for a few years, but she’s probably the one who knows me best. i don’t know if i’ve changed much since i last knew her, but i imagine i have. she probably has too, but it’s hard not to trust her after everything.”
“ha,” jaewon says drily, running a hand through his hair as he leans casually against a wall. “no. lust at first sight, hell yes. maybe you even get a crush at first sight. but love? no. that’s something that takes time and effort.”
47. do you believe in true love?
his face scrunches up as he considers it. “what’s the difference between true love and regular love? like, soulmates and shit? you have one person in the world who’s your true love and they’re the only one you’ll ever live happily ever after with? if that’s it, then no, i don’t think so. that’s just too ridiculous with how many people there are. you might have your true love live in england while you live in korea, and you’ll never get a chance to meet. it’s just unreasonable.” he thinks for a moment, considering other possible meanings. “if it’s just a cheesier, more disney way of saying love, though, then i think so. but for true love, wouldn’t you have to be perfectly happy all the time? isn’t that how disney works? in my experience, that’s not how it works in real life, so i don’t think i do believe in it.”
“Since you have so much to say, why don’t you clean those hands of yours?” Pointing the same set of wipes she’s using to clean his wound free from any blood. Hani was gentle with the whole process. She needs to clean it before putting anything else on it. While assessing the wound, she comes to a realization that it is, in fact, a stab wound but she doesn’t say a thing. She shouldn’t pry too much into it or else she could only put herself in harm’s way.
“Try not to scream,” Hani warns him, as she grabs the can of saline spray. She doesn’t hesitate one bit on spraying at the open wound but she did have a cotton pad at hand ready, applying it over the open wound after. The saline solution hurts since it’s meant to clean the wound but she’s not the one in pain so it’s fine. “If you were nicer to me I would’ve given you the painkillers first.” Dabbing the cotton pad gently over the wound till it was clean enough for her to assess how deep the wound is.
“Do you trust me enough to stitch you up or do you want me to just dress this wound up to keep you from dying from blood loss?”
he goes quiet as she starts working around the wound, her retorts and dry teasing giving him something to focus on besides the now excruciating pain in his abdomen. he hisses in a breath when she wipes it, biting down on his lip hard enough to draw blood to try in vain to distract himself. he’s glad for the suggestion of cleaning his hands, and he only has to twist his head a little bit to see the wipes, though stretching out his arm to get them sends another stab of pain through the wound as it’s moved, and he winces.
her warning, which comes in the form of a rude command rather than any sort of proper comfort a doctor should give a patient, comes barely in time for him to bite hard on the meaty part of his hand, though some garbled cry does come from his throat at the burning, stinging pain now searing through the injury. he pulls his hand away from his mouth only dimly aware of the taste of blood on his tongue, and he absently runs the now-bloody wipes over his newly bitten hand, not bothered by the slight stinging after the horrible sensation he’s still feeling in his stomach.
“you know, you could really work on your bedside manner,” he grumbles, feeling a cold sweat dripping down his forehead and the back of his neck.
he realizes, of course, that he’s in no position to talk back to her, but the comment came out before he fully thought about it -- he doesn’t regret it, though. kim jaewon is nothing if not an asshole. he does consider her next words, though. “could i have the painkillers now, then? before you stitch me up?” because even if she is a stranger, she is doing all the same things the phoenix medics have done on him before -- though of course their care included quite a few more painkillers. at this point, he figures he has no choice except to trust her to know what she’s doing.
Haseul barely reacts to the scowl directed at her because she knows that he doesn’t mean anything serious by it and actually it’s a little satisfying because even if he does have a very good argument about giving Midas a new name, she knows that he doesn’t a point against that. But more than being right, she hopes that it’d be a little push for getting the cat a new home with actually someone that he likes. She does wrinkle her nose a bit with the mention of Midas’ old name and well it definitely wasn’t original and indeed it was a little cringey, a name that a kid would give a cat if she has to be honest and she doesn’t doubt that was the case. Haseul can give him that. “Touche. But my point still stands.” She insists. “You got out of your way to give him a name and that shows that you care, doesn’t it? Or is it just a hobby of yours to name every living thing you meet?”
She waits patiently for whatever excuse the stranger is trying to pull on his head, especially when she knows he won’t find none or at least not one that she won’t be able to argue back anyway and she’s right. Of course she is. Haseul lets Midas go and takes the chance to sip at her tea again, trying to finish it before it gets too cold and she can feel herself almost choking when her name is asked.
It isn’t like Haseul wasn’t expecting that question at some point. After all, people could only spend so much time without having a name of the someone they’re talking to, but a part of her was a little hopeful that they could stay nameless for a little longer, that she could just not think about whether she’d trust this stranger with an information that sounds minimal but she’s an extortionist, has worked with enough hackers and made researches herself to know that a name is more than enough for someone dig up your whole life if they have enough skill. Haseul takes another sip of her tea, stalling as much seconds as she can without making the conversation awkward, for making it more believable whatever answer she decides to give to him.
“No, thanks.” She decides to start with the easiest part, looking down at the cat that started to pur all over again under his owner’s attention. “Midas is a pretty name yes, but I’m not sure I completely trust your naming skills.”
Haseul takes another long sip of her tea and then looks at the stranger for a beat too long before finally making her judgment. “I’m Haseul.” Her name rolls on her tongue much easier than she thought it would albeit her tone is almost shy, small. “Yours? Unless you’re the one who wants a new name, I could work with that too” She gives him a small teasing smile.
names are important, especially on this island, in this world riddled by gangs and crime. giving your name to the wrong person could mean death for you or your family if they decide they want something you’re unwilling to give them. astrus does his best to be one of those people -- the ones who take a simple name and use it against its owner, who takes that small, seemingly insignificant gift and turns it into a trigger ready to be pulled. in this cafe, though, jaewon is just jaewon, just a tired boy who wants to play with the cat that’s his but also not his, and he doesn’t have any intention of hurting anyone he meets here.
this girl is an enigma to him, though, and he’s nothing if not curious -- the saying about the cat flits into his mind, feeling even more ironic thanks to the cat strutting across the table to rub its head into jaewon’s hand once again. but still, jaewon wants to know more about her -- midas won’t even let the actual employees of this place close to him unless jaewon is present anymore, but according to the owner, he’ll interact with haseul just fine, with or without jaewon. his acceptance of her says something to jaewon -- it feels like a sign, like the cat who he’s bonded with so easily is telling him that this is someone else he can trust.
he doesn’t trust her, of course, as that’s ridiculous in their world. you never trust someone before they’ve proven themselves. but there’s a little part of jaewon’s mind that keeps saying that maybe midas choosing her is a form of proof. he figures that even if he ignores it and keeps her at arm’s length -- like a reasonable extortionist would do -- he could at least have her name. something feels wrong about using it to look her up, though, so he’s already decided that he won’t do that.
he smiles when she gives it to him -- from her reaction, it seems like she hadn’t been expecting the question ( which was part of the reason he posed it in the first place, to distract her from his excuses for not adopting midas ), but it also seems as if she hesitated before giving it to him, which makes him wonder if she’s involved in the crime world too, somehow.
( he wants to respect her privacy, so he won’t look her up, but he can’t help making observations. it’s in his nature. )
“i’m jaewon,” he replies, giving his real name without hesitation. he has no idea if she gave him her real name or not, but it doesn’t really matter -- if he’s truly setting aside his habits as astrus for this girl ( even if it is on the silent advice of a cat ) then he may as well be honest from the start. “kim jaewon.” if she’s an extortionist or a hacker -- or even just involved in a gang at all -- she could find all sorts of information on him just from those two words. he just gave her all the power he could without spilling all his secrets openly, so he sits back, sipping his drink. he watches carefully for her reaction, keeping his expression pleasantly neutral. if she knows how important a name is, it’ll surely show in her eyes.
This is a headcanon meme for everyone! You’ll be able to reblog this meme for fourteen days starting today, but feel free to continue answering memes after that if need be. Go wild with them and have a good time! Also feel free to use this for sentence starters or drabbles; the most important thing is to get everyone writing. Hopefully, it’ll spark some new plot ideas and interactions too!
Remember to reblog this if you’re interested in receiving a meme, and to send some to everyone that reblogs it, too! You’re welcome to skip over this if you’d like to; it’s by no means mandatory to reblog and participate. Most importantly, though, have fun!!
“Bullshit. You know it is bullshit. Midas knows it is bullshit.” She scratches Midas’ chin, making him point his head to the stranger like that was going to prove her point even if his eyes were still closed “You can, you just won’t. Unless you can present me a good reason besides the I don’t have the time one since we already established that one doesn’t count.” Haseul won’t admit it but she might be a little hypocritical about this, because that’s the first excuse she uses to not adopt a pet of her own even when she thinks that it’d be a nice addition in her life, even if she’d love to take one of those kittens home. It’s a very realistic and valid excuse if they were talking about dogs that are much more in need of attention than cats, but this isn’t about adopting a dog, is it? But then again in her defense, she didn’t go out of her way to name any of those cats or any pets because, at least for her, it’d mean she was adopting them already.
“For fuck’s sake, you named him even when he already had a name.”
jaewon scowls at the girl’s presentation of logic, though there’s no real heat behind the expression. he marks his place in his book, blowing a bit more cat hair off the bookmark before he closes it. now that they’ve started talking, it’d just be rude to try to continue reading. he supposes he’ll have to finish that chapter later. his eyes narrow when midas turns to look at him, letting the girl run her hand down his back instead. he looks so smug at the fact that jaewon finally closed his book that jaewon nearly opens it right back up again out of pure spite.
he sighs heavily at the girl’s continued rant, and he crosses his arms over his chest, not even trying to hide his slight pout. he doesn’t respond to her prompt, though when she adds the comment about his name he can’t help but snort. “hardly. look, it’s not like he responded to whatever dumb name the cafe gave him. i think they just called him panther. hell, i wouldn’t respond to a name like that either. at least he responds to midas.” it’s hard to tell from across the table, but jaewon thinks he hears midas’s purrs get louder in response to his words, and he can’t stop a satisfied smirk.
he watches the girl interact with midas for another minute, all too aware of how her prompt for a good reason about not adopting midas hangs in the air between them. he supposes he could tell her that he’s never had a pet before, but that feels a bit too close to admitting a weakness ( which is so stupid he wants to bang his head against the wall because his own mind makes such little sense to him ). and besides, he’s already realized that spending so much time here has made him enough of an expert in caring for cats that his inexperience is a moot point.
with that discarded as his last potential reason to give her, he casts around for a new subject and lands on the subject of the girl herself. “what’s your name, anyway?” he asks, leaning forward again and holding his hand out into the middle of the table. midas meows at the sight of it and climbs out of the girl’s lap and back onto the table, bumping his face into jaewon’s hand as soon as he reaches it. “or do you want me to give you a name, too?”
“stop staring at me and eat,” jaewon says, using his own chopsticks to indicate seoah’s hardly-touched plate. “i’m not going anywhere.” he takes another bite of rice, glancing back up at her as he chews. his eyes soften when he sees that she’s still staring at him, though she’s at least picked up her chopsticks now.
“look,” he says, and his tone is softer now as he leans forward, looking into her familiar face, which is somehow the same and yet all too different from when he saw her last. “i know it’s weird to suddenly see me again. i mean, you thought i was dead, right? i made sure everyone did.” he gives a wan smile at that, though there’s no humor or joy in it. “i’m really, really sorry for that.”
he looks away from her then, finally breaking eye contact as he leans back in the booth, the noise of the crow’s nest’s other customers filling the silence between them. their booth is fairly secluded, giving the illusion of privacy, and jaewon knows the servers probably won’t interrupt them, since seoah works there and can take care of herself and jaewon is such a regular that he’ll tip well with or without good service.
“so ask any questions you want, i guess,” he says with a would-be-casual shrug, picking up his chopsticks again and starting to pick around for the best bite of food. “but i wanna know what’s been happening for you, too. i’ve heard a little about sol, you know.”
It’s sort of a routine, Haseul thinks. She likes routines, especially when her main job doesn’t exactly promises such stability. She starts attending the cat cafe during her free time because she loves the balls of fur as much as she likes the dogs on her workplace but sometimes puppies can get a little too much for someone who has a very strict limit of affection they can handle and someone who needs some space most of the time. Cats are like dogs but more chill.
She loves animals with all her heart, would love to have one but she doesn’t have the time for them, both her jobs taking too much of her time for her to be responsible for another creature like that — the not in denial part of her denies that and argues that maybe not a puppy but Haseul could make it work with a kitten. So those animal cafes are a nice way to fulfill her quote of cuteness without needing to adopt one.
The same way it’s a routine to watch the same stranger interacting with the same cat like he already owns the ball of fur. Haseul knows she’s staring the same way she knows that it’s not polite, that she probably shouldn’t, but that doesn’t stop her from doing it anyway. One it isn’t like they’re completely strangers even if they haven’t exchanged names, they’ve talked a couple of times in that same cafe and even shared a table before. And two there’s a cute kitten just beside them, cutely playing with another one and it’s beyond adorable.
But today it feels a little different. Actually it’s been feeling a little different for a while now. Even if both the man and the cat had a chemistry and belonged to each other, he never really went all the way and adopted the kitten. It started as something that Haseul politely ignore, but now it’s a little frustrating, a little more than frustrating, frustrating enough that she takes her apple and cinnamon tea and approaches him. Haseul settles by his side — carefully maintaining a few inches away from him — with a light frown on her face. Usually she’d have a much lighter approach to this, but Haseul doesn’t feel like it, doesn’t feel like it’d work anyway.
“It’s getting ridiculous, are you going to stop being a pussy or not?” The pun is only lost on her for a brief moment but she ignores it either way, eyes narrowing slightly at the boy. “You’re basically in love with this cat and it’s in love with you for as long as I’ve known you so just take it home already.”
jaewon doesn’t entirely know how he managed to bond with this cat who, according to the cafe employees and volunteers, has never had one bit of interest in any of the people who come through the place. according to them, it’s always just stayed up in its tower, glaring and sometimes even hissing at anyone who tried to get too close without its permission. “he always rubs against my legs and lets me pet him a little when it’s feeding time, though,” one of the workers told jaewon once. “it was like he was saying thank you.”
when he’s around jaewon, the cat is kind of aloof, but no more than most cats are, in jaewon’s opinion. he likes to curl up in jaewon’s lap and be petted while jaewon reads and drinks his coffee, or to walk along the back of the seat and climb onto jaewon’s head to try to make a nest in his hair. he has a favorite toy, too, and will bat at the feathers hanging from the small plastic fishing rod in jaewon’s hand. he meows loudly when he thinks jaewon isn’t paying enough attention to him, and he always hisses when jaewon tries to interact with another cat.
he’s a possessive, smug, spoiled little shit, but somehow jaewon’s fallen for him anyway.
the problem is, though, that jaewon’s never had a pet. the cat is so cold towards other people that it’s unlikely he’ll get adopted while jaewon’s not there, since he rarely comes out of his tower hole except for jaewon, food, and to use the litter box. it’s far easier and more comfortable for jaewon to just let him live here, where the cafe will feed and take care of him, because jaewon honestly doesn’t know the first thing about caring for a cat.
( of course, after spending so much time here, he probably knows more than enough about cat care to adopt one, but he stubbornly chooses to ignore that fact. )
he’s been calling the cat midas, since it refuses to respond to whatever dumb name the cafe gave it. right now, midas is sitting primly on top of jaewon’s open book, giving him a baleful look and meowing loudly. “you can’t always have one hundred percent of my attention, you know,” jaewon says, speaking in the same annoyed tone he would to a human.
he looks up at the interruption, and midas meows as he moves off the book and walks across the table to the girl, rubbing against her hand and purring. jaewon rolls his eyes, brushing black cat hair off the pages of his book. jaewon doesn’t know this girl’s name, though they’re not exactly strangers anymore -- this isn’t their first time interacting, or even sharing a table. she’s the only other person midas likes, so jaewon figures it’s better not to push her away or potentially scare her off by flirting with her. she is pretty, of course, and under normal circumstances he would flirt her pants off if he could. but doing that might offend her or scare her off, and she makes midas happy, so he doesn’t.
“pretty bold, coming over here talking about pussy,” he replies dryly, an eyebrow raised. normally he’d add some flirty quip to that, but instead he watches the way midas sits and lets her move her hand around his head, scratching all his favorite spots. “but i’ve told you, i can’t adopt a cat,” he sighs, though he gives no reason as to why not, because he knows perfectly well that there is none.
“it’s not a lie!” jaewon insists, his expression morphing into a pout. “i really really will do the dishes if you feed me.”
he realizes, of course, that he sounds like a petulant child, but that’s kind of what he’s going for here. he finds all too much joy in annoying his neighbor, and since he can’t cook to save his life, he’s desperate for a meal that isn’t cheap takeout or corner store ramen.
qian is far too fun and easy to annoy – he wonders, sometimes, how he got so lucky to get someone like her in the apartment across from him. she’s really hot, too, and he uses every chance he gets to flirt, though she always shoots him down. he hardly minds the rejections, only using the quips and comments as more ways to try to annoy her.
he leans dramatically against the wall next to her door, putting the back of his hand to his forehead as if he’s swooning. “i’m so hungry, qian,” he whines. “i’m going to pass out from starvation right here. i’ll be your doormat for the rest of time.” he looks at her, dropping his hand to take hers in his, his voice not losing the dramatic tone. “please, qian, you’re the only one who can save me from a life as a doormat.”
he pauses, considering, then adds something else with a wink. “though, to be fair, i wouldn’t mind if you stepped on me. as many times as you want.”
jaewon doesn’t usually go into fabric stores. he doesn’t really have any need for them -- he’s not a particularly artsy person, and hardly ever even goes clothes shopping. but he recognized a face that entered this store about five minutes ago, and he slips in after her, glancing around the store to see where she is and sneaking around towards her.
he doesn’t remember which of their meetings was his first time running into jieun, but they do keep running into each other. she’s pretty, so of course jaewon flirts, and her tendency to play hard to get while still clearly enjoying his attention only encourages him further. at this point, he doesn’t even mind if they don’t end up sleeping together -- how much fun he’s had with her already makes this amount of effort worth it in his book. but of course, he would never say no to sex, if he does manage to get her to say yes.
he slips into a rack of hanging fabric, using it to hide as he follows her down the aisle. when he sees her stop, he sticks his face out, a wide grin on his face. “boo,” he says, stepping out of the rack as he enjoys the reaction this causes.
He was speaking nonsense and Hani wasn’t just an ordinary nurse. She graduated from SNU and she was on top of her class as well. Coming to the island was nice. She felt normal. No one had to know she used to live in poverty but no one knew who Hani was. She’s not labeled as the prettiest in SNU’s med school anymore here which was a bummer as well. She wasn’t supposed to be here if she wasn’t kind enough to give her pregnant employee a ride home to ensure her safety. She simply noticed a man, bleeding at the alley on her way back.
“Prove it? That your possible death would be ruled out as exsanguination and probably infection?” Great. He wants her to prove what she knows in the medical field as if reading books and learning at med school wasn’t enough.
“Very well. The bones at the very tip of your fingers are called Distal Phalanges followed by the middle ones which are also called intermediate phalanges and there are the proximal. The main base of your hand that connects to your fingers is called metacarpal. Now, if you let me save you we will discuss more of this but clearly, you’ll bleed out of death before I get to discussing your carpal bones.” There has always been a reason why Hani has a Cadillac Escalade. It serves not only as an ambulance for her but also with the ample cargo space and how she can actually put down the seats from the back allows her to take care of any patient. Anytime, anywhere.
“Trust me, you’re losing more blood as we speak.”
She carefully approaches him and tries to steady him. He can doubt her later but right now, she has the upper hand. She can either save him or kill him in this situation but her duty as a nurse to the general public comes first. She’s always ready for situations like this. Her car is equipped with medicine and a medical kit that can save lives. The longer he refuses her help, the closer he will be to needing a blood transfusion and a step closer to death. Her car was just steps away so she carefully leads him to the cargo space. She doesn’t accept any more protesting from him as she opens the back door. “Be less of an asshole and accept my help. Trust me a little and you’ll live.”
[ tw: injury, blood ]
he can barely focus as the girl names some of the bones like he asked for -- the adrenaline is clearly wearing off, and the pain is taking up all of his conscious mind. he leans more heavily against the wall, using both hands now to press against the wound and groaning when the added pressure increases the pain. he can feel hot blood on both of his hands now, and he barely has the presence of mind to nod when she starts to help him more closely, leading him towards the mouth of the alley.
“okay, fine,” he says, though it comes out quietly, through clenched teeth. “can’t promise i’ll stop being an asshole, but fine. you get to decide if i survive, how fun is that?” he babbles, hardly even registering what he’s saying as he puts all his focus into staying upright as she leads him towards a car.
when she helps him into the back of the car, he lets out a yelp of pain before he can stop it, though he immediately bites down on his lip to hold any more like it back. he settles on his back, his breaths coming quick and thin.
he’s had wounds like this before, of course. he’s gone through emergency first aid like this several times, though it’s never been done by anyone except for phoenix’s trusted medics. his job has him front and center with the enemies, negotiating and threatening and using every bit of dirt on them he can find. usually it’s smart to go into these meetings with a couple soldiers present as backup, in case his target gets pissed and attacks to shut jaewon up. it’s not like he’s defenseless, but it’s always better to leave the enemy outnumbered.
he realizes he was stupid this time, and just because he’s been stabbed before doesn’t make it any less painful this time. to try to distract himself, he opens his eyes and looks around the car, moving his head slightly back to see the interior. “well, if this is your car, then it’ll be a bitch to get the blood out of the seats,” he says, his voice still tight with pain. “but if it’s not yours, then not your problem, right?”
What was it again? Ah, yes. It’s that hell of an oath she took when she graduated and when she actually became a registered nurse. She can’t just let someone throw their life away. Her job is something she takes seriously and his temper can’t get in the way of that.
“Look, sir, I’m a nurse.” Hani explains. A hand over her chest and a quick yet heavy breath as she made sure she was in his way and he won’t be going anywhere anytime soon without her trying to get him treated. Why are people so scared of hospitals, doctors and nurses? They’re just doing their jobs, trying to keep people from dying and being the miracle that most people need because whichever god they are worshipping isn’t always going to save them, since they’re not the only one worshipping them.
“If you die in my hands without me doing anything, I have failed my duty as a nurse. Not to mention, your memory will be digging on my conscience and that is not fair!” Hani grabs for the male’s arm, pulling him along with her to a safer spot.
“I swore an oath so technically, it is actually my business whether you actually die or not.”
Hani forces a smile as she looks at him.
“I’d rather be responsible for someone alive. Trust me, you’ll thank me later or not, but I’m not going to let you die. Not on my watch.”
[ tw: blood ]
jaewon scowls as the girl steps into his way. “look, lady, i’ll be fine as soon as i get home,” he says, and it’s not a lie. he just needs to get back to phoenix hq and their medics will be able to patch up the stab wound in his side with no trouble, but the main problem is getting there without bleeding out first. but here, blocking his path, is a complete stranger -- she just stumbled upon him as he was recovering in the alleyway where his target’s bodyguards left him bleeding, and now she refuses to let him go.
honestly, she’s probably right -- it’s unlikely that he’ll be able to make it all the way back to hq like this. the crow’s nest isn’t quite as far, though, and someone there should be able to help him out, even just to get him a ride to hq. but he has already lost quite a bit of blood -- enough that even just standing here is making him a bit dizzy. the pain in his side is dull right now thanks to the adrenaline, but it’s sure to get much worse as soon as that wears off.
when she insists again that she’s a nurse, he narrows his eyes. “prove it,” he says, placing the hand that isn’t held against his wound to the brick wall beside him, trying to brace himself so he doesn’t fall over. “prove that you’re a nurse. name all the bones in the hand or something.”
to be fair, he doesn’t know all the bones in the hand, so if she’s a good enough liar then she could probably just make words up and convince him, but he likes to think that even in his dizzy, pain-addled state he’d still be able to recognize her hesitation at having to come up with gibberish names for bones on command.
❛❛ ah, if i don’t go out there, he’ll call me a coward for the rest of my life. ❜❜
“then kill him,” the response comes easily, as if jaewon were suggesting a new restaurant to go to, rather than advising a friend in murder. “publicly if you have to. no one’ll believe you’re a coward if they see you kill someone in broad daylight.” he shrugs, taking a sip of the coffee sitting in front of him.
silence reigns between them for exactly one and a half seconds before he grins and looks over, shoving the other lightly in the shoulder. “obviously i’m kidding,” he laughs, smiling wide enough that his eyes almost disappear -- he discovered long ago that wide eyesmiles like this are one of the best ways to hide when a smile doesn’t quite reach your eyes.
he drums his fingers on the counter next to his coffee, leaning back and looking at the ceiling as if thinking about what actual advice to give the other. obviously he had been completely serious with his advice of murder, but johnny knows him as jaewon, not astrus, so that’s not something he should really advertise. “if it’s a difference between going out there and dying brave or staying here and living a coward, i’d stay every time,” he says after a moment, though in his mind he adds another stipulation. though i’d probably have something up my sleeve either way, and it wouldn’t matter if anyone called me a coward.
hello all, i’m very late bc this weekend was moving weekend for me and my family ( we have a new house it’s big and new and cool!! ) so im only just now getting around to Really doing rp things for the week, but hello!! i’m kate and this is actually my second time through with this muse -- he joined when the rp opened as taemin, but both of my muses got cleared when i got busy and forgot to go on hiatus whoops. but now he’s back and revamped and i have even more muse than before!!
i’m available on twitter ( @nyayoungs ) and discord ( kate the great#9438 ) for plotting, or we can also do things through ims! i’m fairly slow on any platform, but i’m good with whatever’s most comfortable for you! under the cut i’ll put some info about jaewon/astrus, but if you don’t want to read that you can like this if you want me to come to your inbox for plotting, or comment with a heart if you’d like me to send you a meme! i’m also still accepting memes from anyone who wants to send them, as well.
his name is kim jaewon, and he uses that in most casual settings, though he uses astrus in just about any gang situation. most people in phoenix know his real name, but if you’re in another gang and met him through his work with phoenix, you’ll only know him as astrus!
and vice versa is also true -- if you met him in a civilian setting and he introduced himself as jaewon, he’ll try his best to keep you from knowing that he’s also astrus, as he likes to take advantage of both astrus’s infamy and jaewon’s anonymity
that said, only a handful of people ( outside phoenix, where most of his close friends probably are ) probably know him as both!
he’s a racketeer and extortionist for phoenix, and he’s Very Good at his job. he knows how to use his looks and charm to get what he wants, and if that doesn’t work he also has a scary side and a bit of a knack for some casual torture if he needs it
i still haven’t figured out his entire background?? this is how secretive this muse is even i don’t know his full backstory but once i know it i’ll make a bio page and link it on dash and on his blog!! for now, here’s his profile!
he’s an animal lover, but he claims not to have time for one, despite spending a lot of his free time at home building explosives
oh yeah, he’s a bomb designer as a hobby, and he does commissions for everyone except hydrus and the mpd, both of whom he hates. if you need a bomb and have the money to pay, he’s the guy. he doesn’t like people ( and therefore potential enemies ) knowing that astrus, well-known racketeer and extortionist, is also skilled with explosives, so he runs this as jaewon. unless you’re a phoenix member or a friend of his, you’ll interact with jaewon, and will only know him as an unaffiliated weapons/explosives designer!
here’s a few potential plots!!
childhood friends! i’m not gonna cap this or be too picky about it -- he grew up in bimil village and was probably one of those boys who would sprinkle salt on slugs and hold a magnifying glass over ants to watch them burn, but he learned from a young age how to use his charm, so he probably had quite a few friends! he also traveled with his dad into the city a lot, so he could know kids from there too!
when he’s not busy ( which tbh is quite often ) he’ll visit quiet, calm places like bookshops, libraries, the cat cafe, etc. and just chill out there for a while. maybe your muse also frequents those places?? who knows tbh let’s plot it out!!
tho he also does enjoy his nights out so clubbing/party buddies? random person he meets at a party or club and starts flirting with? anything is possible!!
phoenix members!! please phoenix members i’m begging you he’d die for u guys give me some mutually protective gang members!! or give me a phoenix member who for whatever reason wants nothing to do with him!! any phoenix plot is great pls!!
neighbors!! you probably have no idea what your neighbor jaewon actually does for a living, but smoke alarms from his apartment are a regular occurrence. upon being asked, he insists he’s just an electrical engineer and says his workshop isn’t safe for others cause of open wiring, but other than his odd job he’s a fairly good neighbor! 100% will always pet-sit or plant-sit if you need him to, and will loan baking or cooking ingredients if you promise to share whatever you’re making with him
rival gang members! particularly hydrus because he has a vendetta/grudge against hydrus because they killed his family. also, he doesn’t like the mpd either because he thinks they did a botched job investigating his family’s murders, or were bribed into letting the people who did it get away. any dynamic with either of those would be interesting! lynx and corvus he’s both fine with, and he thinks columba is weird with their whole vigilante thing, but doesn’t really have an issue with them
exes!! one night stands!! fwbs!! random flings!! seriously this guy gets around and is pan as hell chances are if you’ve interacted he’s probably thought about banging you and probably tried to flirt too so all of those plots are welcome
if u made it to the end congrats i guess?? idk why i write a ton every time i do anything but thanks for reading this and let me know if anything sounds good to you!!
